Jesus reminds us we are art and empowers us to make art. there isn?t only one right way to do the job of glorifying God. There are many ways, a million little ways, that Christ is formed in us and spills out of us into the world.

-emily freeman

(i?ve been thinking on this topic of Art for some time now. i wrote about the way art (as we normally think of it) facilitated the drawing out my youngest?s truer self. Emily Freeman?s journey with art has also influenced me greatly. She started 2011 on her blog with a series on Art. This year, she did a series titled; ?Artists and Influencers.? the quote above is from her newly released book: A Million Little Ways (p.29))

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The Art of a Pastor

on any given Sunday there is this man. he is a father, a grandpa, a husband, a shepherd. throughout the week he wrestles and ponders and discovers truth from God for himself. and then on Sunday he authentically shares it with us-hoping so much that we would grasp in some way the height and depth and width and breath of God?s love for such sinners as we are. because he?s beginning to grasp it as the deep sinner that he knows he is. and he?s finding freedom and joy in the grasping.

?the [homes] illustrated here (all produced by the agile hands of Bobby McAline) are the initial sparks of creation. They are predicated by talking (and mostly listening) to what our client says. Once we identify the heart of who is sitting in front of us and comprehend why the thing is, we can begin what the thing is.?

if i could ever afford an architect-this is exactly what i would want. one who would listen to my heart and perform a work of art to become my home.

The Art of an Italian Plaza Sketcher

There was this portrait artist my husband and i saw on our honeymoon. we were young and niave (nice way to say stupid) and cheap/having limited funds. we saw him on our first day of the tour in a plaza in Rome. he was creating a portrait of a woman with pencil or charcoal. it was breathtaking the way he was capturing her. we were intrigued and desired one of ourselves. but the 60.00 was a bit high-and we decided to wait until we returned to Rome at the end of our trip. we didn?t know what was ahead and didn?t want to spend so much our first day out. also thinking maybe this was something common in Italy and maybe we?d see more artists like him? we didn't. and he was not there when we returned to the plaza 2 weeks later. he had a gift of capturing a soul.

The Art of mining for treasure with a friend

the Lord has gifted me with a dear one- a counselor who became my friend. a vessel in which the Lord has carried out His promise in Isaiah 45:3 as she came along side and mined for treasure in the darkness. my life and the lives of those i come in contact with have been forever changed because of the insights she?s invited me to discover and deal with in her listening. Her listening is her art.

Art+ no shame = Joy

the joy i see in the architect and my pastor and my friend seems directly related to not being ashamed of the way Christ is spilling out of them into the world. they are not ashamed of their art.

I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. (isaiah 45:3)

because the words stopped coming for a moment and so i walked away and then allowed fear and comparison to enter the void.

and then just moved on with my world....forgetting, actually forgetting, all about it until just now when i pulled up MSword to write on my ponderings of Matthew chapter 8.

Tuesday?s post was about artists.

i let fear keep me from completing my art.

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Matthew 8(it will make more sense if you read the passage too?)begins with 3 different stories of healing. i am slowly learning to shift my vision and focus when i read scripture. typically i?d read each story one at a time-and create a list of things to copy so the story could be mine too. but this time i sat down and read the entire chapter all at once and mapped out verses 1-17.

the leper kneels and pleads with Jesus for healing-telling him exactly what he wants;

the centurion goes to Jesus and tells Him about the problem, not stating what he wants the solution to be.

Peter?s mom-in-law doesn?t do anything. Jesus goes to her house, sees she is sick, touches her and she is healed and begins to wait on Him.

?Lord what do You have for me here? because i can?t make a moral to do list, they are all so very different. the only thing in common is that You healed them......the only thing in common is You.....and the word i am seeing repeated here in this chapter is..... Authority.....?

Jesus has authority over all of creation, time, space, infirmities, diseases.

and He is very personal and relational about it. and oh so full of grace.

the leper was sure of His power, but unsure of His character; ?Lord, if you are willing....?

the centurion seemed both sure of His authority and character-trusting that Jesus would care about the suffering of his servant and His ability to ?just say the word and he will be healed.?

Peter?s mom-in-law. she says nothing.....

once my husband was out of town and my 3 were off at school and i was sick as sick could be. i spent the day laying in the bathroom-because the toilet needed to be that close. my daughter comes home from school informing me that she and some classmates have made plans to get together at our house to work on a class project. in about 10 minutes.

WWWHHHHAAAATTTT???????

i wonder if that?s how peter?s mom-in-law felt. and Jesus knowing the burden of hosting a Rabbi and his followers, just goes and touches her. He doesn?t even say a word. and nothing is recorded that she says anything back, she just gets up and performs the hospitality she?s been taught to do when a teacher comes calling with your son-in-law.

when i finish mapping it all out in my notebook the two questions i ask myself are:

what about His character do i need reassured of? (?I am willing?)

How does this visual of His power and personal relating.... comfort me? challenge me?

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what does that have to do with Tuesday?s unpublished post??

you see the fear of publishing my writing comes from that old comparison trouble. these stories show that Jesus works personally with each person-there wasn?t some formula for approaching Him that could be gleaned from these stories-tho we have often tried so hard to do so. i think that so misses the point.

the point is that He has authority over time and space and His character is trustworthy. He cares about my humanity.

vs. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

?He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.?

in so many areas of my life i need some sort of healing. in this particular blog space i need to be delivered from the doubt and fear that so easily entangles me and causes me to walk away from my art without sharing it.

and it robs me from the joy of having obeyed. regardless of the results of words that flow smoothly and words that fall way short of good writing.

and so, i?ve decided that tomorrow i will publish Tuesday?s post. even if i can?t figure out how to wrap it up and it stops short in the middle of a thought. Even if i don?t get all the links and acknowledgements and writing etiquette figured out proper.

Christ has authority over time and space and His character is trustworthy. He cares about my art.

for this blogging thing isn't about putting on a show it's about unashamedly sharing my art resting in His authority and charactor to do with it what He will.